Introduction

There are some car parts that work extremely hard every single time that we drive our car’s.

For example, brake pads and brake discs incur huge amounts of friction, and therefore this generates heat. Then theres the engine itself, which has large stresses imposed upon it every time we turn the key, and therefore quality engine oils should always be used.

You also have other items within your car, which work equally as hard, such as the cars clutch, that every time you use a manual gearbox, the whole clutch system including the “friction plate” will be working hard to help you to change gear’s smoothy.

Does your car’s clutch need replacing?

Regardless of the car brand, or the make of the model of the car that you drive, you may start to experience the clutch becoming worn. It doesn’t matter if the car is relatively new, or an older car, a clutch may need replacing at anytime.

Ultimately you should get your car’s clutch checked over by a qualified mechanic

Our best advice is, if you think that your cars clutch needs to be replaced, or you simply want to get it replaced as per the manufacturer’s specification, then you should talk to a reputable garage, such as Automotive Cardiff Ltd.

As with a number of other car parts, if you leave getting the cars clutch replaced until the very last moment, then it can sometimes cause even more car parts to become damaged, this may mean because maintenance has been delayed, that more damage has been incurred, therefore the labour and parts bill may be higher.  

For example, a heavily worn clutch might go onto wear out other parts such as the cars flywheel sometimes.

Here are just some of the signs that may indicate a clutch needs to be replaced:

“Clutch judder” (juddering from the clutch peddle when you are finding the “biting point”)

One of the most common signs that a clutch is worn, is when the clutch shudders, this is often referred to as “clutch judder”.

This is often felt when you are moving through the gears, especially into first gear from a stand-still.

The clutch is slipping

Another common sign is the clutch needs replacing is when it’s actually slipping, you may experience this especially if you are starting the car on a steep gradient, if the clutch is slipping then you definitely need to get clutch replaced.

The clutch peddle biting point is much higher

You may notice that the “biting point”, that’s the point when the clutch engages with the flywheel, you may notice that the biting point becomes higher, this is another tell-tale sign that the clutch needs to be replaced.

Harder to move smoothly between gears?

Ultimately whichever car brand that you drive, the gearbox should allow you to change through the gears quite smoothly, allowing you to transition up or down the gears with minimal effort.

However, if it becomes difficult to put the vehicle into gear, or to simply change gears then this could be sometimes because of a worn clutch.

How can I extend the life of my cars clutch?

Sometimes a driver will cause huge stresses on the cars clutch through their driving style, such as “riding the clutch”, or just simply through harsh acceleration which can cause the cars clutch to become worn in a much shorter period of time as opposed to a using more gentle driving style.

Here are some recommendations for helping to extend the life of your clutch:

More gentle driving

Quite simply put, driving more gently can help to decrease the wear on the cars clutch, for example if you are changing through the gears more smoothly, and using less acceleration then this can help to prolong the life of the clutch.

Do not ride the clutch

You may see a lot of drivers “riding the clutch”, this simply means sometimes at the traffic lights, some drivers will have the clutch engaged, with the car’s accelerator revving at the same time, this causes increased strain on the friction plate, and a huge amount of stress on the rest of the clutch, which is not needed when the car is not moving-  therefore a smooth engagement of the clutch, and gentle acceleration is far better way to extend the life of your cars clutch.

Avoid harsh acceleration

Harsh acceleration can simply cause increased stress on the clutch and the engine.

Avoid using the clutch with excessive acceleration

Sometimes some drivers build up the revs excessively, while also easing the clutch in, if this is done under harsh acceleration, then this also will increase strain on the clutch.

Mechanical sympathy

A phrase we like to use a lot at our garage is “mechanical sympathy”, you may hear some mechanics use this phrase a lot, it simply means that the driver should have acknowledgement about not just how they are driving the car, but how they are using the components while they are driving.

With a little knowledge about how the car’s engines components work- often the driver will have more sympathy for how hard the car parts are working, and therefore want to extend the life of these car parts, by driving the car in a more gentle driving style.

Ensure that your garage replaces the clutch with quality car parts

One way to ensure that you get better life out of your car’s clutch, is to quite simply use a garage whereby the mechanics are using quality clutch kits and not cheap clutch kits.

Cheap or low-quality clutches will often wear out in a much shorter period of time.

Are you looking for a garage within Cardiff that can replace your car’s clutch?

If you are looking for a garage in Cardiff, which employs highly experienced mechanics, and you need your cars clutch replaced, then why not give us a ring?